WASHINGTON — Today, Sept. 4, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is adding one site and proposing to add four additional sites to the Superfund National Priorities List. The NPL is a list of known sites throughout the United States and its territories where historic releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants pose significant threats to human health and the environment.
The Biden-Harris Administration has provided historic funding to accelerate EPA’s work to clean up NPL sites so they can be returned to communities for productive use. With the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $3.5 billion investment in the Superfund remedial program and the Inflation Reduction Act’s reinstatement of the Superfund “polluter pays” chemical excise taxes to help clean up such sites, the Administration has made one of the largest investments in American history to address legacy pollution. Due to this historic funding, EPA was able to clear the pre-existing backlog of unfunded Superfund sites and has provided as much cleanup funding in the past two years as it did in the previous five years.
“Through this important work, EPA is helping protect vulnerable communities from uncontrolled hazardous waste releases,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “We are also contributing to the affected communities’ economic and overall wellbeing by restoring land currently blighted by contamination.”
EPA’s work to clean up contaminated sites under the Superfund program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which makes it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
EPA is adding the following site to the National Priorities List:
EPA is proposing to add the following sites to the National Priorities List:
Past activities at the sites announced today include copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold mining; pottery manufacturing; dry cleaning; lead acid battery refining and recycling; and wood treating. Site contaminants are numerous and include hazardous substances such as lead, zinc, and other heavy metals; chlorinated solvents; dioxins; and arsenic. Contamination affects surface water, groundwater, soil (residential and industrial), and subsurface soil (vapor intrusion).
Background
The NPL includes sites with the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination. This list serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions. Only releases at non-federal sites included on the NPL are eligible to receive federal funding for long-term, permanent cleanup.
Before EPA adds a site to the NPL, a site must meet EPA’s requirements and be proposed for addition to the list in the Federal Register, subject to a 60-day public comment period. EPA may add the site to the NPL if it continues to meet the listing requirements after the public comment period closes and the agency has responded to any comments.
Superfund cleanups provide health and economic benefits to communities. The program is credited for significant reductions in both birth defects and blood-lead levels among children living near sites, and research has shown residential property values increase up to 24 percent within three miles of sites after cleanup.
Since taking office, the Biden-Harris Administration has followed through on commitments to update the NPL twice a year, as opposed to once per year. Today’s announcement is the second time EPA is updating the NPL in 2024.
Learn more about Superfund and the National Priorities List.